Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Reviews
A lot of promises have been made with the latest in the long running Call of Duty series, much hope that we'll be in for something revolutionary in the FPS genre, while many expect more of the same.
To cap this all off, I'll address the "Exo Suit feels like Titanfall" thing mentioned at the start of the review. To the untrained eye, this may well be the case. Jumping up and boosting through a window to take down a player shooting from the other side of the room is possible in both of the games, but the key difference is this. Titanfall was designed like that from the ground up. Advanced Warfare has taken the core Call of Duty mechanics and enhanced them with these new fangled suits. They feel totally different, and frankly, who cares if they've taken an idea from another game and implemented it? That's what video games have been doing since day one, and although I doubt it's been ripped wholesale from Respawn's new baby, it's done more for Call of Duty than anything has done over the past 4 or 5 years. Considering how much I was down on the series as a whole, Advanced Warfare has turned me round on it. Maybe not quite to the level I used to, but it's done enough to get me back on side again.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare feels like a great shot in the arm for a series that was starting to get stale.
As a complete package, Advanced Warfare was a really good installment into the Call of Duty series. The story was gripping and incredibly dramatic. Filled with action from start to finish with strong voice acting, beautiful cut scenes, flawless controls and really cool weapons. The campaign is one of the best in the series. The multiplayer also delivers a lot of entertainment, but it feels like the game has been mutated too much. The developer has gone too far trying to balance all of the weapons, perks and kill streaks to the point where there is no real advantage to using anything anymore. There is a lot of entertainment to be had online, but it isn’t as fun as it has been in past games.
The increased mobility and abilities really open up the gameplay and I now cannot imagine future Call of Duty titles not having these fun additions. This is the first Call of Duty game in years that I really don't have any issues recommending at full price, though you can easily find it on sale at a few retailers already if you keep a look out. Sledgehammer Games entered into the Call of Duty franchise with guns blazing. I just hope they can keep that strong momentum going with their future releases.
As someone who's been burnt out on the series for the past few years I couldn't get into MW3, BO2, or Ghosts but Advanced Warfare finally got me back into the series. The jetpack is such a game changer for me I honestly want nothing to do with the next games in the series if they don't have something similar.
In the end, whether you're a diehard fan who plays Call of Duty or a disgruntled one who hasn't played it in a while, then you'll probably find a lot to like with Advanced Warfare's multiplayer that warrants a purchase, but with expectations becoming exceptionally high for triple A gaming these days, Activision's reliance on an 11 year old formula is doomed to inevitable failure.
As an overall package, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is something that is really only going to appeal to those who want a decent online experience. The single player is barely worth bothering with, but the new additions that allow for some big gameplay changes are more than welcome in the multiplayer.
Even with the Exo Suit, the campaign is more derivative than any previous Call of Duty game. The multiplayer action is frenetic, but various shortcomings prevent it being a leap forward.
Call of Duty Advanced Warfare's battles are absolutely ridiculous. But, they sure are fun!
Call of Duty Advanced Warfare breathes fresh life into the franchise and will go down as one of the best games the franchise has ever produced.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare offers some of the biggest, and most interesting changes to the series since Modern Warfare, and promises hundreds of hours of fun in its fantastic multiplayer mode and gripping single-player campaign that's the best one in the series to date. Don't miss it.
The single-player campaign in Call of Duty Advanced Warfare is more engaging but it still makes some mistakes in the end with characters making decision and choices I felt were rushed or simply did not make sense. Technically speaking the game is the best Call of Duty to date and even the story issues can't detract from that. Coupled with the new multiplayer modes, both co-op and PvP, Call of Duty Advanced Warfare delivers on its purchase price.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is a glorious return to form. Now, that "form" still requires a bit of tweaking and honing but for the most part, this is a positive reemergence of a video game superpower. The production values are sky-high, the multiplayer will keep you coming back again and again, and above all else, this is Call of Duty with a twist.
Is Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare more of the same? It depends on how you look at it. Those who are burnt out on the series won’t be magically converted to the church of Call of Duty with this game, but those who are loyal to the series will no doubt enjoy the new tweaks the future has in store.
So, 2014. Is this the year that the double-jump finally found its regular place in the first person shooter? It's certainly been the 'in thing' this year, as has a general boot up the arse of the FPS genre. How does COD stack up against Destiny and Titanfall though? Ignore the internet trolls, posers and haters, you can enjoy them all. In this reviewer's eyes though, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare has been the complete package. A star filled, explosion-packed blockbuster smash of a campaign mode with a set of stellar multiplayer modes where Kill Confirmed and the new ball-based sport, Uplink, are set to become new favourites. Both the campaign and multiplayer owe a huge debt to the exoskeleton, which has proven to be the ultimate catalyst in pushing Call of Duty back to the top this year. Your move, Far Cry 4.
With the imminent release of Black Ops III, there's never been a better time to pick this up, as frugal gamers that might have previously been on the fence about pulling the trigger can now pick this up for a bargain price.
This is Call of Duty coming to terms with itself—pushing and pulling between social responsibility and the joy of instinctual, itchy trigger-fingered chaos. Not since Modern Warfare has an entry to the series felt much more than casually disinterested in humanity.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare offers a much more innovative take on the first-person shooter series than previous installments, but it's still shackled to the core recipe of forcing players to follow allies through set piece moments in the story campaign. The multiplayer offers a higher degree of innovation and it should certainly entertain quite a lot of fans who are open to trying the new mechanics.
But as someone who deeply cares about narrative in game, it's immensely frustrating to see the money that Activition is clearly throwing at the narrative not bearing fruit. People tell me that narrative isn't important to Call of Duty, but if that's the case then Activision should not be investing in Kevin Spacey, and should simply pull the plug on single player and invest solely in multiplayer gaming. More than anything else I do believe that if you're going to do a story, you should do it properly. There's the world of potential in Call of Duty franchise to be the games industry's take on The Hurt Locker, so yes, is does annoy me that Activision seems to be more interested in generating endless clones of Black Hawk Down.